Morning Outlook

Futures are heading slightly lower in premarket trading Thursday following an amazing surge yesterday. With the blue chips now standing solidly over 10K, investors await key retail data and the scheduled weekly jobless claims. Both extremely important figures to drive market direction in the session. Retailers will be leading the market either up or down, while this will be the first look at July’s employment prospects. Ahead of the data, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 5, or 0.1 percent, to 9,975. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures lost 1.30, or 0.1 percent, to 1,058.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures declined 2.50, or 0.1 percent, to 1,787.00. The euro dollar trade once again has crude extending its gains from Wednesday, with the euro at its highest level against the greenback since May.

Wall Street soared in trading action Wednesday, advancing for the second straight day as investors turned positive on top line revenue growth heading into Q2 earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 274.66 points, or 2.82 percent, to 10,018.28. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 32.21 points, or 3.13 percent, to 1,060.27, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 65.59 points, or 3.13 percent, to 2,159.47

Currencies and Commodities

The dollar rose 0.4179% at 88.0700 yen in the currency market. The euro appreciated 0.1029% at $1.2650, while the pound lost 0.3218% to $1.5140. Gold fell 10 cents to $1198.80, while silver climbed 0.06% at $18.01. Light, sweet crude gained 56 cents to $74.63 per barrel on the NYMEX; a 0.76% advance

Economic Calendar

8:30 AM
Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims for the week of July 3rd , to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The fewer people filing for unemployment benefits, the more have jobs, the more income in the consumer’s pocket, as well as a forecast on the strength of the economy. The consensus is for an increase of 465,000 for first time jobless claims after rising 13,000 to 472,000 . The four-week average rose last week by 3,250 to 466,500 for the highest level since March, and that was reflected in the June jobs numbers. Cuts in temporary jobs for the 2010 Census may give claims a boost as some discharged temporary Census workers may be eligible for benefits, however that should be factored into the seasonal adjustments alongside school workers.

3:00 PM
Consumer Credit: Measures the value of consumer credit outstanding. Changes in consumer credit indicate the state of the consumer’s finances and can forecast their future spending patterns. Credit availability is tight in the current environment at the same time as households cut back and deleverage their finances. The consensus for May is for a decrease of $2 billion, however the range goes as low as $-5 billion. Credit unexpectedly edged up $1.0 billion in April-the first increase in three months, aided by non-revolving credit.